Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. Army leader in Europe, has been nominated to be the next supreme allied commander, Europe, the Pentagon announced May 3.

If confirmed by the Senate, Cavoli would succeed Air Force Gen. Tod Wolters, who has held the job since May 2019. Cavoli also would take command of the U.S. European Command.

Cavoli would be taking over during a critical time in Europe, as NATO contends with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and U.S. troops deploy to the region to bolster the alliance’s Eastern European flank. The U.S. also is mulling changes to its force posture in the region in a bid to deter Russian aggression.

Cavoli is currently commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, a position he has held since October 2020. From January 2018 until the Army consolidated its Europe and Africa commands, Cavoli served as commander of U.S. Army Europe.

As commander of European Command, Cavoli would lead more than 68,000 troops and civilians across an area of responsibility spanning 51 countries and territories. In his role as supreme allied commander, Europe, he would be one of NATO’s two strategic commanders and command Allied Command Operations, which is responsible for the planning and execution of all alliance operations.

Commissioned into the infantry in 1987, Cavoli has served in a variety of positions throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. His previous commands include the 25th Infantry Division, the 7th Army Training Command and the 1st Armored Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

He also has served as the deputy commander of Regional Command-West in Afghanistan and as deputy commanding general for operations at the 82nd Airborne Division. 

A foreign area officer with a concentration on Eurasia, Cavoli speaks Italian, Russian and French and holds degrees from Princeton University and Yale University.